Copyright Statement

Abstract

When Chris Wallace-Crabbe first came to the University of Melbourne,
it was by a circuitous route. Completing his school years at Scotch
College, he had qualified for a Bachelor of Science degree. Instead,
he went to work as a cadet metallurgist at the Royal Mint, followed
by national service in the Royal Australian Air Force. Abandoning
early aspirations to be an industrial .chemist, Chris was increasing
drawn towards the study of literature and an awakening love of modernist
poetry through his reading of Penguin Modern Classics. In
February 1953, he enrolled part-time in a Bachelor of Arts degree,
entering an institution then widely known in 'a youthful vernacular
which misrepresented our true feelings about a beehive of excitement'
as The Shop. Chris's association with the University of
Melbourne was to continue for the next six decades: as an undergraduate
and graduate student; then as a lecturer, doctoral supervisor,
teacher, mentor, colleague, somewhat reluctant administrator and
head of department, and distinguished poet-professor.